USC Trojans
The University of Southern California Trojans men's basketball program is the college basketball team that competes in the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and represents the University of Southern California on the court. The program began playing in the newly constructed Galen Center on the USC Campus in Los Angeles, California in November 2006. Previously they played for many years in the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The program was formerly coached by Tim Floyd, until his resignation on June 9, 2009.Chris Foster, Report: Tim Floyd resigns as USC's basketball coach, Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2009, Accessed June 9, 2009. Other staff members include Phil Johnson, Bob Cantu, Gib Arnold, Rob Brooks, Rudy Hackett, and Eric Perea. Kevin O'Neill, who last coached in the NCAA at Arizona, was named the head coach by Mike Garrett on June 20, 2009.Brian Dohn, O'Neill named at 'SC, Los Angeles Daily News, June 20, 2009 History Sam Barry coached the men's team from 1930-1950, interrupted by World War II service. His teams won the conference title three times. Recent success USC advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. This had not been accomplished since 2001 (second time since 1979). 2007–08 In the 2007–08 season, USC featured guard O. J. Mayo from Huntington High School. He had been ranked by several major sports publications as the top prospect of the 2007 recruiting class. During the 2007–2008 season, the Trojans played the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners at home. They also played in the Anaheim Classic from November 22–25, 2007. Each night, USC played a team from the Big Ten, Big East, SEC, or Big 12. Additionally, they had a return game against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina. After the regular season and Pac-10 Tournament had ended, USC earned a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans were seeded against the #11 seed Kansas State. This first round game gained heavy media attention because of the matchup between college phenoms O. J. Mayo and Michael Beasley. Although the game was relatively close throughout the first half and early second half, the Wildcats came away with the victory by a score of 80–67. As expected by many, Mayo entered the NBA Draft at the end of the 2007–08 season. He was selected as the 3rd overall lottery pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Trojans finished the 2007–08 season with a record of 21–12. However, on January 3, 2010, the University concluded its internal investigation over allegations that Mayo received improper benefits during his stay at USC in 2007-2008. The University concluded that Mayo did receive improper benefits and that Head Coach Tim Floyd was an active participant in ensuring that Mayo continued to receive money and gifts on behalf of a sports agent, in violation of NCAA rules. Therefore, USC declared Mayo ineligible to play in 2007-2008, and USC Basketball has voluntarily vacated all regular season wins from the 2007-2008 season. The USC record for 2007-2008 thus is 0-12, a result of the peculiar scoring rules for marking vacated wins as no contests. 2008–09 The 2008–09 Trojans team features the 3rd-ranked recruit in the nation according to Rivals.com, All-American forward Demar DeRozan. USC also received a commitment from point guard Percy Romeo Miller, Jr aka Lil Romeo, the son of Master P. The team opted not to have an October 17, 2008 Midnight Madness celebration. Building upon the success of previous years, the Trojans defeated Arizona State in the Pac-10 Championship Game and clinched their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They defeated Boston College to reach the second round, where they lost 74–69 to eventual runner-up Michigan St. Sanctions On January 3, 2010, USC announced that it had implemented self-imposed sanctions for violations of NCAA rules related to Mayo.USC, USC Announces Sanctions on Men's Basketball Team, Jan. 3, 2010, Accessed Mar. 16, 2010. The sanctions include a one-year ban on postseason competition following the 2009-2010 regular season, a reduction of one scholarship for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years, and reductions in the numbers of recruiting days and coaches participating in off-campus recruiting through 2011. The school also vacated all wins earned during the 2007-2008 season, due to Mayo's ineligibility at that time. Notable alumni See Category:USC Trojans men's basketball players Coaches The following are the USC men's head basketball coaches who have led the Trojans against conference competition. Prior to fielding conference teams, USC men's basketball was also coached by notable USC coaches such as Dean Cromwell (baseball) and Elmer "Gloomy Gus" Henderson (football). *Bill Hunter (1922) *Les Turner (1923–27) *Leo Calland (1928–29) *Sam Barry (1930–41, 1946–50) *Julie Bescos (1942) *Ernie Holbrook (1943–44) *Bobby Muth (1944–45) *Forrest Twogood (1951–66) *Bob Boyd (1967–79) *Stan Morrison (1980–86) *George Raveling (1987–94) *Charlie Parker (1994–1996) *Henry Bibby (1996–2004) *Jim Saia (2004–05, interim head coach) *Tim Floyd (2005–09) *Kevin O'Neill (2009–present) References External Links *Official athletics site Category:NCAA Division I schools Category:Pacific Ten Conference members Category:Schools in California Category:Pac-12 Conference members